


Take What You Need, Say Your Goodbyes

by CinruCross



Category: Original Work
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 05:09:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19100344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinruCross/pseuds/CinruCross
Summary: Originally for an Intermediate Creative Writing Fiction course I was in during University in 2017.TW - Contemplated suicide via jumping from great heights.In this story, our heroine Nola is a Goddess who has just returned to the city she protects. She had to leave in order to ensure the destruction of a gigantic monster, leaving the smaller monsters and demons to the rest of her allies to fight. Her allies are a myriad of creatures and beings, but those mentioned are: Theo, who is the God of a neighboring dimension, Dei, a cleric of Theo but resides in Nola’s city, Lucius, who is a half demon half magical being, and Jariel, who is just a human. The demon summoned is Baalier, a long time enemy of Nola who loves to irritate her and is very slippery. We begin this story with Nola resuming daily rounds of her city after having been gone for so long.





	Take What You Need, Say Your Goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus points for anybody who can tell me what song the title is from!

She ran, eyes closed, heedless of the people on the city sidewalks around her, and listened past the wind that whistled in her ears. Normally when she heard someone in need calling out her name, their location was easy to find amidst the streets with her powers. This particular outcry, however, wasn’t on street level and that worried her. She rushed along, much faster than any normal person could run, chasing the first call for help she’d had since her return a few days ago.

_N-Nola!_ came the cry again, and the heroine stopped, opening her brilliant emerald eyes to look upwards. There was the silhouette, that of a man standing atop an office building, framed against the auburn sky stained by the dying sun. He appeared hunched over, arms drawn in, standing very near to the edge of the fifteen story office building’s roof.

Nola’s eyes widened, a gust of wind blasting her long, black hair about behind her as she swore under her breath. “A jumper having second thoughts?” she breathed, both relieved he tried yelling for her and anxious to reach him. The heroine contemplated the solid mass of at least one hundred fifty feet that towered before her, long, warm coat blowing in the wind. _Got to get up there before he jumps,_ she told herself silently, casting a glance around her at the people beginning to gather in the pre-dusk light, undoubtedly recognizing her. For now, she ignored their whispers. _No use in trying to keep this low profile now…_

Her eyes flashed, and a circular pulse of green energy expanded out from her body like a ring of neon; several people exclaimed, startled cries going up as the green ring converged again back into Nola. The glowing woman disappeared in a blinding flash, the space where she stood warping slightly. She appeared again with another flash atop the office building, sounds of the clamoring crowd swallowed by the fiercer winds that roared so high in the air.

“You called?” Nola raised her voice to ask, and the man turned at the shoulders, stiffening when his gaze met hers. The green-eyed heroine held her breath, taking a step forward. “Wait… _Jariel_?” she gasped, about to rush to him when the hunched man held up a hand.

“Hey- no, Nola,” Jariel said sharply, shaking his head and holding up both hands, voice unsteady. “Just, no! Stay over there!” The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, Jariel’s short, curly brown hair fell somewhat in his face, dark brown eyes looking at Nola, conflicted, hurt.

“Alright.” Nola halted, hands falling to hang by her sides. “What drove you to such a height, Jariel?” she asked, voice carrying over the winds, fingers scratching absently at the fabric of her pants. _Hadn’t expected to see Jariel again so quickly._

“You,” Jariel said lowly, his confusion transitioning quickly into bitterness as he turned around fully. “You’re... supposed to be dead.” Both of them stood quietly, his words hanging heavily in the air. “Where did you _go_?”

_Me? Dead?_ She couldn’t help but be amused by the concept. _Sorry to disappoint._ Nola was silent for a long moment. “You know I did what I had to, young one,” she tried, gaze soft. “What I did that day I did for all of you, and the city.”

“We all thought you were never coming back!” he shouted, both arms wrapped around his middle once more, grip hard on his sides. “And, and when…” He stopped, forcing a breath out through his mouth, trembling. “When you went through that doorway-- to take that monster down-- you, you didn’t come back for so long. We--” His voice broke, and the brown haired man stopped talking for a long moment, feet shifting where they were planted dangerously close to the edge of the roof.

“Jariel...” Nola sighed, remembering the day- the battle. She’d had to take her true form to dispatch that monster efficiently. “It was the only way to minimize the casualties.”

“We couldn’t find you!” Jariel spat. “And Lucius, he--” The man wiped at his eyes. “He tried to go after you once everyone else was accounted for. Made Dei help with the spell because Theo was busy with the barrier and nobody else had any strength left-- but something went wrong. Luce couldn’t recall your portal, and he got hit by something when he did finally get a gate open.” Jariel shifted slightly. “Something evil.”

Jariel’s glare cut through Nola, and a curl of guilt spiked up in her stomach. She’d closed and sealed the portal behind her when she dragged the behemoth through, that much she remembered doing. “How is Lucius n--”

“It changed him,” he cut in. “He hasn’t talked to any of us since.” Jariel’s words were curt, and he hugged himself tightly. “It has been nearly a _month_ , Nola. He won’t even talk to _me_.”

Nola bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Jariel,” she said, taking a slow step towards him. “If you’ll allow me to see him, I’ll see what I can do for him,” she offered, but Jariel’s face darkened.

“Don’t come any closer,” he snapped. “Some guardian you are-- you left us unprotected for almost a month!” He was really shouting now. “Why should I let you anywhere near my Lucius? How do I know you won’t indirectly cause him _more_ harm?”

Nola frowned, taking a moment to join her hands behind her back. “I know you’re far past upset, but you cannot blame me for something that happened when I wasn’t even in the same dimension as you,” she said calmly, slowly. “If I hadn’t taken the beast back down into its own doorway, there would have been great loss of life. You know this, you were caught up in the battle, too.” Jariel shifted again. “Why did you call me, Jariel, if you thought me dead?” Nola asked, keen eyes focused on Jariel, watching him carefully.

“I...” he started, but stopped to cast a glance behind him, down the one hundred fifty foot drop to the concrete below. “I can’t go back.”

The Guardian blinked. “Now why is that?” she inquired.

“Because I’ve-” Jariel cut himself off, gasping a little as a strong wind gusted, threatening his already precarious perch. “I’ve done something really bad-- okay?” He shot Nola another defensive glare. “You weren’t here, I had no choice!”

“Jariel.” He went still. “You _always_ have a choice, especially when it comes to bad things- morally or otherwise,” she told the brown haired man, and he looked back behind him again, this time it was clear- he was looking for something. “Tell me, young one,” Nola insisted, shifting her weight to lean away from him slightly. “What did you do, and what drives you to shout my name from atop office buildings?”

“I only wanted to help,” he pleaded, shrinking under her gaze. “Please, I’m so sorry.” His eyes shut for a second, and the human shook his head. “After Theo returned to his own realm, we didn’t know what else to do. Even Dei was at a loss. You weren’t here.”

Nola waited, listening quietly as he talked, not offering any response until she got a sufficient one of her own. Jariel looked at her like he wanted her forgiveness, and she needed to know why.

He looked back behind him and down to the streets again, staring down for a long moment at the bright lights. The blue flashing lights of police cars told him someone had called the authorities. “You weren’t here. I had to go elsewhere for help,” he told her, his voice sad and low. Another long moment of silence passed, filled only by the rushing roar of the wind. He turned his back to Nola, facing the sheer drop. “I had to go elsewhere, and th-their price,” Jariel said, raising his voice a bit higher, voice still shaking. “Their price involves a… a sacrifice. I have to make a sacrifice to reverse the affliction Lucius got hit with.”

Nola stayed where she was, holding back her anger. “You made a deal with a demon?”

Jariel looked back over his shoulder, smile nonexistent. “Dei said that their magic wouldn’t work to actually heal Luce,” Jariel told her, eyes staring off into the distance just above Nola’s head. “They’d likely be able to rehabilitate him into talking in hands, maybe, if he started to improve.”

“But the demon promised a full recovery,” Nola said, expression unreadable. “And for a price you were more than willing to pay. Correct?”

Jariel turned away, back to the dizzying drop. “I only need to prove my love with some sort of sacrifice. He said the act itself didn’t matter, I could do anything so long as it’s a sacrifice.” He shivered. “Are you going to try and stop me?”

Nola was deceivingly quiet for some time. _There’s no way he thinks that he’s going to actually be able to take a step off this building with me right here,_ she mused. _I could immobilize him without even touching him._ “Why something so extreme?” she asked instead.

“He told me that there was a chance I’d be completely restored too, if the sacrifice was drastic enough.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I’ll be just fi--”

“Have I taught you anything, human?” Nola cut in, voice striking out of the wind-drowned silence. “Life restored by a unholy means is not real life.”

“Does this make me weak?” Jariel asked quickly, one hand combing through his hair. “Loving him this much?”

“Love is not a weakness, Jariel,” Nola returned, a pitying look crossing her face. “But dealing with demons is hardly smart.”

“No,” came a different voice, and the winds died down. “No, it’s not-- of course not! Love’s not a weakness.” The flapping of wings sounded all around the pair, and Jariel quickly stepped down from the ledge and back from the building’s edge. “You were just too weak to protect your love, Jariel-- there’s a difference!”

Jariel collapsed, grasping at his chest, and Nola stood alert, green eyes sharp. “Come out, demon!” she yelled, and she thrust an outstretched palm towards the sky, a blinding flash of light exploding from her open palm. A small yelp boomed off to her left, and she closed her open hand, a cord of green colored light swirling across the fading light in the sky. She yanked on the whip of green energy, bringing a writhing bat-like creature out of thin air and down onto the roof. 

“So forceful, Guardian,” the voice called out once more. “Poor little spawn, you’ve probably killed him.” A shadow dropped down onto the roof, a vague canine shape rising out of it. “We haven’t seen you in so _long_ , Nola,” it crooned. “I only tried to fill in for you while you took care of that behemoth. You _could_ be a little more grateful.” The mass of shadows swelled, twisting into the shape of a wolf with a set of wide, dark black bat wings. Bright red eyes shone, and the figure flapped its wings, letting loose a roar as the shadows shot away, revealing a black wolf with a white underbelly, skeletal tail, and curves of white under its eyes. “Little Jariel just wanted some help.”

“Baalier,” Nola sighed, actually looking away from the newly revealed demon to cast a look over at the human. “Don’t tell me you’re actually trying to help with this nonsense of a deal.”

The demonic winged wolf shook himself, bat-wings stretching, toothy grin wide and maniacal as he took a few heavy steps towards the Guardian. “Oh, I am always helpful,” he hummed, standing a few paces in front of her, just inside the shadow of a neighboring building.

With the setting sun behind her, Nola’s silhouette lit up with the auburn glow, her shadow cast down the surface of the roof, almost meeting the shade Baalier stood in. “So he summoned you, then?” she guessed, and her shadow started to change. It became vaguely canine shaped, though it lacked wings.

“Mmm, yes,” Baalier rumbled, eyeing the changing shape before him, and he started to take a step backwards. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me leave now, Nola, the great, Eternal Guardian?” he ventured, jaws open to continue speaking when a snarl from the one opposite him cut him off. He blinked several times.

This time, no glare of green signaled the change as a massive white wolf appeared in Nola’s place, black slash marks arching down from her eyes, down the back of her head, and fit like crescent moons over the back of her neck and her lower back. "You really are _stupid,_ aren't you, _trash king_? Appearing before me like this." Those green eyes stared the demon down, and before he could even move to get away or even react to the insults, the back of his neck was seized and he was forced down onto his side. She stood over him, ten feet tall and nothing but rage and bristled fur. “You lead one of _my_ followers to the top of a building, where he is ready to dutifully jump to save his lover,” she growled, huge paws pinning Baalier down, one trapping his wings while the other crushed down on the demon’s neck. “And for what? You cannot raise him from the dead like you claim you can-- not back to a life that is whole.” From the shadows burst more of the small bat thralls, their numerous small maws open and screeching in defense of their master.

With several strong lashes of her long tail, which extended and cracked through the air like a whip, Nola dispatched scores of the small demons, their bodies writhing on the ground before cracking and breaking apart altogether. Off to the side, curled up and squirming on the rooftop, Jariel let out strangled coughs and raspy breaths. The Guardian looked to him, then back down to Baalier. “Do I need to force you to release him?” Nola growled, teeth bared, and the demon’s ears flattened, bone tail tucking between his legs.

“Of course not, Guardian,” Baalier whined, looking to Jariel momentarily. “All done, he’s free. Can I go now?” The ragged breathing and coughing coming from Jariel’s direction ceased, and slowly, the human began to get up.

Nola blinked at Baalier, green eyes intent. “And you were the one calling _him_ weak,” she huffed, ears pricked as she stared down at the cowering demon. She pressed down harder with her claws, vibrant green energy racing off of her white fur and into his black fur. The demon stiffened, mouth closing as his eyes went wild. A circle of white light appeared below them and slowly it filled with various runes and lines connecting them. Beneath Nola, Baalier began to struggle. “You will never return to this city. I hereby banish you from this realm, as the protector of these people and Eternal Guardian of this world, I set this seal in you. If you ever return, all you will find is your own death.” And with those words, the circle began to glow brighter, color bleeding from white to green as Nola added her energy to the seal, more and more, until Baalier couldn’t hold in his screaming. “Now _leave!_ ” she snarled, and stamped her paw down on the side of his skull.

An intricate collar of light encircled his throat, burning into his skin and fur as he choked and howled. A blinding column of spiraling, white and green light shot up into the sky and vanished, taking Baalier with it.

A moment of silence followed, and ever so slowly the winds filled in the void with that rushing sound. “N-Nola…” came Jariel’s voice, and the great white wolf turned. “You’re really back, you- you really...” He struggled to stay on his feet.

“I’ll never leave you unprotected if it is within my power.” She towered over him, standing a good five feet taller than the average man, but looked down to her follower with soft eyes. “Let’s go find Lucius, young one,” she suggested, lowering her head to give him some support. He nodded, reaching to embrace her huge muzzle. His arms didn't even reach all the way around under her chin. He gazed into her deep, glittering green eyes.

“Everyone will be so happy to see you,” he sighed, smiling. “I know I am.”


End file.
